Slayage
by Claire C. Griffon
Summary: A demon attackes the Scoobies in the Magic Shop, and our slayers are rendered useless. What will happen next? Rated PG13 just to be on the safe side.


Ok. So this story has come out of an RP that I'm involved in. I hope you all enjoy it. And, incidently, I believe we're currently looking for a Spike anda Faith, so if you're intrested, check out these sites: http/forums. and http/ That is all.

Finally, this story time line is as follows: for the moment, thisstory is set in Sunnydale, after the fifth season of Buffy, supposing the Buffster didn't die. So we enter into the sixth season with Buffy alive, Spike in love/lust with Buffy, Dawn MUCH less whiny than in the real sixth season, Xander and Anya in love for the moment, Willow and Tara in love and Willow getting more addicted to magic and Giles not going anywhere.

* * *

Willow settled herself at the table in the magic shop. She spared a glance at the room. Anya was behind the counter, serving her real purpose in the world--to sell people "stuff". Buffy hadn't arrived yet...Willow guessed her to be picking up the Dawnster. The shop was actually painfully devoid of customers, at the moment, and Willow grimaced in true dismay, realizing that she was trapped alone, in a shop, with Anya. She sent up a purely mental prayer to the Wiccan heavens, hoping that someone would come along to save her. 

Spike ambled through the storage room door, staggering a bit as he went. He had been playing a game that morning of "get drunk in the daylight" that had left him somewhat woozy. He looked around the Magic Box and decided that Red was the only interesting one there so far (that didn't drive him insane). He pulled out a chair at her table and sat down. Spike thought for a moment, then stayed quiet though. He wanted to complain, he just had to figure out what he was complaining about today. He looked over to Anya and she glared at him in a way that said 'touch anything and die (unless you give me money)'.

Anya pursed her lips at the two people in her shop. "Oh. Hello Spike. Have you come to join Willow in being unproductive?" She wiped a rag over the counter absentmindedly, wondering when real customers would show up. Hopefully they weren't being chased away by the freeloaders.

"Spike, have you been drinking?" Willow's brow furrowed as she glared at the platinum vampire, looking more than a wee bit put out. "You know Buffy's going to be upset if she finds out you're here, right? I mean, I know she appreciates what you've done, and...uh...oh..." She shook her head. "It's your funeral. Not literally." She shot a look at Anya, but didn't feel like arguing with the blonde ex-demon. She made a mental note to be more specific in her future prayers to those Wiccan heavens.

"Yeah, 'course I've been drinking. What is it, Red? She already hates me," Spike said the last part quietly, like he wanted to pretend that it wasn't true. He brightened up, "So, where's the Whelp, Anyanka?" The vampire hoped Xander wasn't there, or there would be full support for the statement about Buffy's feelings. Was there anything worse than being stuck with a human who hated your guts _who you couldn't bite_?

Buffy stood outside the magic shop, shuffling her feet and procrastinating about going in. She'd felt very alone lately, her friends unable to understand the grief she felt about her mothers death. Lately all she wanted was to be at home, quietly sitting in her mother's room. But she had to go in.  
She reached out with her right hand for the doorknob and twisted hard, plastering an empty smile on her face at the same time. As she walked through the door, she looked up at the tinkling bell. The sound had been annoying at first but now, after months of coming here everyday, it seemed homey and comforting.  
Looking down again, she saw that Anya was here as always, as was Willow and... Spike. "Great" she thought. "Uncomfortable much..."  
She walked to the table trying to ignore his presence and sat carefully down at one of the chairs encircling it.  
"Hey," she said, turning to her best friend. "Sorry I'm late, Dawn duty."

Looking at her, Spike wanted to get the blonde's attention. He didn't say anything to her -- if she was ignoring him, he shouldn't care. Shouldn't, not didn't. The vampire wasn't going to be her bitch anymore though, the only problem was being able to stop himself from acting like he was a puppet and she was pulling his strings. It didn't mean he didn't love Buffy, it meant that Spike could be himself again. This was somewhat of a revelation for him, so he decided to start this now -- he stopped staring at her. No one noticed.

The door swung open, but the new-comer was no customer. Faith walked into the room and grinned "Sorry I've been gone. Trouble." The siren of a police car was heard nearby, and the dark slayer cringed slightly. Ignoring the looks she recieved from the other occupants of the room, Faith pulled up a chair next to Spike.

"Faith" Buffy said, sarcasticly "How nice of you to join us."  
She saw the proximity Faith had put between herself and Spike, and a wave of jealousy rushed through her. She pushed it away, annoyed at herself for letting the feeling get to her. She masked it with disdain and continued.  
"What brings you here Faith? You know you're not welcome."  
She stood up and moved closer to Faith, Spike between them. Crossing her arms, she said "Well?"

Willow bit her lip, sensing a confrontation coming on. "Uh, hey, guys..." She sighed discreetly. All she had wanted was to do her homework. This whole, lovely "Lets incriminate violent people" was more than she had bargained for. She leaned her head back, massaging her forehead with two fingers. "Look, not to change the subject---" Oh, that was a big fat lie. She really WANTED to change the subject. "Shouldn't there be some kind of dark power rising? Maybe you commando types should go check that out."

Willow was ignored for the moment, the intensity of the confrontation too overpowering. The vampire had the urge to defend the girl, he knew what it felt like to be unwanted. Spike stood up and smirked at the two of them, maybe Buffy's semi-hatred for Faith would decrease that which she felt towards him. ...But wait, had that been a glint of jealousy in the blonde's eyes. He brushed the thought away -- it was impossible. Maybe...if he just edged a little bit toward the brunette, he could see that reaction again. Spike turned his attention towards Faith and smiled, in his most charming manner, at her.

However, before she could reply, Dawn walked into the shop. Bouncy on her feet, she said cheerfully, "Hi guys. What's up?"

Tara followed Dawn in, her over-sized purse on one shoulder. She ducked her head. "Buffy, I hope you don't mind, but I picked Dawn up for you. I figured that since I was right near the school..." She trailed off, picking up on the tension in the room. She hesitated to ask what was going on, because she was nearly certain that the answer would be 'nothing out of the ordinary.'

She eyed Faith. The second Slayer was looking oddly guilty. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl, despite knowing her past.

Faith only took up a second of her time, though, as she noticed Willow looking uncomfortable, agitated, and ignored. She brought her stuff over and sat down next to Willow. "Hey sweetie. Wanna fill me in?"

"Tara!" If it is possible for someone to go from agitated to melting in a matter of milliseconds, that was what Willow did. She made a face as her girlfriend slid in next to her. She leaned over and whispered--none too quietly, but everyone was too worried about the impending implosion of the center three to really pay attention to her or Tara. "Buffy's getting a little bit...upset...about Faith being here. I think she's still pissed off about that whole, I slept with your boyfriend while in your body thing. So..confrontation time. I sorta hope Buffy remember's Dawnie's here--" She motioned for Dawn to come and join them. "Cause otherwise this could get ugly."

"Thanks Willow." Dawn said as she made her way over to the two Witches. Squeezing into the little room that remained, she asked the rom, "So, what'd I miss? And don't tell me that I can't know 'cause it's Scoobie stuff only. I still find out... eventually." A non-to polite smirk appeared on Dawn's face as she said this.

Anya rested her chin on her fist as her eyelids drooped. She contemplated asking if anybody was possibly interested in purchasing a cursed bloodstone but...it was useless. They never wanted to buy anything. Why they chose to set up their little camp in -her- store...it was beyond annoying. And Xander never seemed to take her side.

"Oh, nothing to worry about, Dawn. Just a little...slayer debate." Willow said, smiling forcefully. Then the door opened and Xander swept in. The wind had mussed his hair, leaving it even more askew than normal, and he was dressed in his work clothes. He slowed to a stop at the sight of Faith, then jumped the counter to put his arm around Anya's waist.

"Hi, honey." He murmured lazily, giving her a rather pointed peck on the cheek, shooting rather ugly glares at the ex-Slayer. "How was work today?"

'Great,' Spike thought sarcastically, if there was any more hate that could come from Xander, it hadn't ever been unleashed. The vampire was starting to feel a bond with the brunette slayer, someone else who was as unwanted -- or more so -- than he was. He felt a bit better now.

Spike moved away from the glare-off and glanced at Dawn. He walked towards her inconspicuously, "Hey, Bit."

Faith ignored the looks Xander gave her as she had ignored all of Buffy's prior comments. She was fully aware of the fact that she was unwanted, and knew that in order to try to earn and cement a spot among the Scoobies she had to put up with them. Looks, comments, and all.

Several minutes later she finally chose to speak, "Hey, I think Red mentioned something about a big bad B. Shouldn't you be a bit more concerned about that than me?"

"Yeah!" Willow added. "A big bad. Somewhere far, far away from..." The door burst open and dark-haired man who looked semi normal--barring the huge horns sprouting from the top of his head--stepped into the shop. "Hello, ladies. I'm here for my ankh." He said, showing razor-sharp teeth.

"Why is everything in my life so IRONIC?" Willow murmured, looking dejected--but not the least bit surprised.

The demon attacked.  
Faith lunged at the demon without a moments second thought. She threw a powerful kick in his direction, watching the heel of her boot sink into the soft flesh of his abdomen. She found herself unarmed and, much to Anya's dismay, grabbed a ceremonial knife of its stand, ready for the demon's counter attack. Spike changed to fighting stance, ready for a good rumble now. He stood next to Faith and bared his fangs -- though he had been holding them back lately, he didn't feel as if he cared to. The bleach-blonde was waiting for any movement from the demon. Frantically, Dawn looked about for a weapon she could fight with. Not seeing anything that jumped out at her, she ran into the training room and came out a moment later holding a rather large sword. Trying her hardest to hold it properly, Dawn shouldered the weight and prepared herself to fight the demon that was attacking.

At the appearance of the demon, Anya ducked beneath the counter to make sure the cashbox was securely locked and enchanted. She would not have some lowbrow demon thief stealing her hard-earned money. She then proceeded to scurry behind Xander, clutching a vial of some exotic herb to her chest. Hopefully, it had intense magickal properties. If not...hopefully the demon was too stupid to know the difference.

Tara watched suspiciously. She wasn't too frightened, as she had two Slayers and a vampire between her and the demon. Not to mention Willow, her strong Amazon. The thought made her smile briefly.

But something fishy was going on here. It was daylight; most demons at least had the courtesy to wait until nightfall to begin attacking. And this one had just waltzed right into the lair of the Slayers, no apparent plan in place, in the middle of the day.

Was it a trap? A messenger? A mistake? Or something else?

"Uh, Buffy? What the hell is that thing?" Dawn asked her sister.

Xander grabbed a battle axe hanging from the wall, only to have it flash and the smell of burning flesh fill the room. "Damnit, Anya, why is everything in this shop cursed?" He yelled, searching desperately for another weapon.

The demon only stumbled a little when Faith's foot impacted his chest. His eyes glowed a deep red, and his horns swept from left to right, a dangerous arc. "THESE are my opponents? Three little girls?" He motioned contemptously to Dawn, Faith and Buffy, his face contorting in a sneer. "I will drink your blood, and feast upon your bones."

Willow looked at Tara, and then shook her head. "It's been a long time since we've had any demons this stupid." But the look in her eyes expressed the same kind of doubt as Tara's. It seemed likely that this was something more than it seemed.

After all, wasn't it always?

What to do, what to do? "Ummmm... lets all rush it at The same time. Maybe that will confuse it so that Buffy can get a good hit in." Dawn said.

Faith looked over at Dawn somewhat strangely, "Kid, I think you should leave the fighting to us big girls," she smirked as she began charging at the demon with her knife.

Spike grabbed a nearby (and probably expensive) sword. Fists and fangs were usually enough, but weapons made him feel all manly. Now, if only there was a sign that he was allowed to hit, and maybe, well, beat the bloody hell out of, this demon... But you never knew with the humans, what with all their stupid rules.

Tara had a bad feeling about what was going to happen if they killed the demon, but obviously, there was no time for research. The time for action was now.

"Dawn," she said softly, agreeing with Faith's opinion that the Slayers should give it a go before the rest of them charged in.

The demon roared loudly. It reminded Tara of the time she'd seen Jurassic Park, and the frightening scenes with the T-Rex.

She sidled closer to Willow as the demon began to advance, eyes glowing...

Buffy joined in the fight with relish, throwing a roundhouse, followed by a series of punches and jabs in the direction of the large mass of demon, but missing or doing little damage with every one. Her co-ordination was off today - way off. Jumping in front of Dawn to protect her younger sister, she jumped and pushed her legs out, vaulting them both out to hit the demon's fleshy midsection. She fell to the floor, her kick barely inconveniencing the demon. Her strength seemed to be floundering too.  
She got up, determined to kick some demon butt, and ran toward it, deliberately missing and going into a low somersalut to end up behind him.  
"Spike!" she yelled, motioning him to be ready with the sword. With all the strength she could muster, she pushed the demon from behind. The weight was too much for her though, in her somehow weakened state, and she fell face first to the floor as the demon took a waddling step forward, more because she was annoying him than anything.  
Confused, Buffy scrabbled backward, away from the fight. She was noticeably upset now, and felt exceedingly vulnerable, her powers seemingly gone.

Shocked at how badly her sister was fighting, Dawn tried to sneek past the demon that Spike was currently fighting to see if Buffy was ok. It was no use though. The moment she got close enough to the demon for it to lash out at her, it did just that. Hit full force in the stomach, Dawn was thrown backwards into a glass case full of different objects.

"Dawn!"

Buffy scrabbled around on the floor, flailing and desperately searching for something that might hurt the demon. Incensed by the hit her younger sister had taken just a moment earlier, Buffy grabbed the first thing her hand could reach and threw it in the direction of the demon.

It was a very large and silver throwing dagger. The demon dodged it easily though, as if it were traveling through water.

Willow hissed softly, moving--slowly--across the floor toward Dawn. There was something about the demon she should remember, she thought vaguely, as the demon seemed to get stronger while the Slayers only got weaker...she gathered Dawn up carefully, hoping the younger girl wasn't too badly off. "Come on, Dawnie." She murmured, her voice careful and soft, so as not to attract attention. Something about the way the demon moved that wasn't quite right, something about the way its horns moved that wasn't...she shook her head, the word fleeing from her mind.

The demon snarled, his eyes swinging left and right--ignoring Buffy, since she was momentarily distracted in her search for a weapon. He saw something in the remains of the glass case. "MY ANKH!" He cried, and headed straight for it, ignoring the opposition in his way.

Something that wasn't quite natural, Willow thought, and then she blinked as everything clicked into place. She started to yell her conclusion to Buffy, but then she realized that heading straight toward her and Dawn--who WERE in its way--was a very large demon.

Gradually, Dawn opened up her eyes and saw Buffy looking at her. "Guess that was one plan that didn't go according to plan." she joked weakly.

Spike heard Willow's yell to Buffy and he realized she had figured something out. So, the demon had a thought other than 'Kill!' He restrained himself from attacking for a moment to know. He wasn't going to be rash about this -- he didn't want anything worse happening to himself because of stupidity.

Faith pulled her arm back and threw her dagger at the demon, proceeding to charge him, ignoring the odd sensation of the gradual wanning of stregnth she was experiancing.

Grabbingan athame, Buffy threw it with the little strength she could muster. It sailed through the air for a foot or so, then fell, skimmed across the floor, and finally came to rest next to the demon's foot. It turned to face her, bearing down on her weakened form.

Suddenly the room went dark, and Buffy nodded over, passing out.

'Oh crap', Tara thought. This was extremely bad. Faith was fading, and Buffy had blacked out. They were losing defenders left and right.

Which meant that the time for waiting and watching was past. She saw the demon lumbering toward Dawn and Willow. "A spell, Will, do a spell!" But the redhead didn't seem to hear her.

So she took things into her own hand. The athame that Buffy had thrown was behind the demon now, so, dropping to her hands and knees, she scrambled across the floor to grab it. But the demon noticed her, turning and snarling at her.

She did the only thing she could do. She stabbed the athame into the flesh of the demon's calf. "Mortis tangere textilis," she cried.

Faith took advantage of the demon's momentary weakness, awaiting the effects of the spell. She tackled it with all the force she could muster, wondering if it would fall.

Anya waited anxiously to see what Tara's spell would do. The demon was making a terribly mess of her store, and all the Slayers seemed to be doing was making it worse. And the way they kept grabbing items off the shelves as if they were there for their personal use! Although she was basically immobile for fear of the demon, her eyes scanned the store, making a mental checklist of items that were now unsellable.  
The Right Arm of Golgemytl she thought sadly, focusing on the sword Spike had snatched in his haste to join the fight. That was expensive. Perhaps she could claim the scratches that were bound to appear on it now had been made by Golgemytl himself in an epic battle...she smiled through her worry. Then she could market it as a special collectors item and sell if for...maybe double!

"Come on sis! Wake up!" Dawn said anxiously, alebit quietly. When there was no response, she scrambled back over to Tara. "She won't wake up. We're 1 Slayer down and..." she looked over at Faith. Seeing that she too was looking fatieged, she continued with, "and it looks like we may be down by two soon."

Tara touched Dawn's shoulder gently. "Don't worry sweetie," she said, keeping her eyes trained on the demon. "It won't be long now," she whispered, more for her own benefit than for Dawn's.

For a second the demon seemed totally unaffected. Then his knees buckled and he fell to the floor. "Unnnh..." he gurgled. His whole body seemed to ripple, as if something was crawling beneath it. Then, it burst through his chest, a dark vapor that streamed toward the ceiling and then was lost.

With the completion of the spell, Tara sighed, deeply exhausted. "Um, guys?" she murmured. "That dark thing...that wasn't part of my spell..."

Buffy's eyes snapped open. Confused and dazed, she asked "What... what happened?"  
Looking around the room, she scanned for any injuries that may have occurred after she had blacked out. She slowly and carefully picked herself up from the floor, holding onto the counter for support. Her strength was gradually returning, and she hazarded a few wobbly steps toward her younger sister, surveying her form to ensure she was unharmed.  
She put her two hands out, offering them to the girls at her feet, and readied herself to pull them up.  
"What was that?" she asked, to the room at large, and then more quietly to Tara "and what did you do?"

Willow stared at the dark thing with a frown, then went over to nudge at the carcass of the demon. It was dead. REALLY dead. Like, fatally wounded and not breathing or getting up and dancing dead. She grinned at Tara. "That was some spell." She hid the tiny spark of envy that flared up and disappeared, reaching over to kiss her girlfriend before checking that everyone else was okay.

"Everyone okay? Um...well, guess what guys? It's book-cracking time."

"Awww...can't we fight another demon instead? Please?" Xander muttered. Willow shot him a stubborn look, and he sighed, coming over to gather "research stuff". No one seemed to notice that once again, they had wrecked the magic shop.

Happy that her sister was ok, Dawn hugged her tightly. Then, pulling back, she said "You got killed, I'm telling."

After checking to see Buffy and Dawn were okay, Spike looked to Faith. Then, he looked towards the others. Everyone seemed to be okay -- not that he cared -- except for Anya, who kept looking around the shop in horror. The bleached blonde shrugged, it had all turned out for the best. Well, except for that whole black misty thing. He went over to the Summers, "You okay, Buffy? Nibblet?"

"Yeah." Dawn said in answer to Spike's question. "You?"

"'M good, Bit." He glanced over to Buffy and glanced back to Dawn again. Spike smiled at the girl, turned to the side and saw Anya glaring, turned back, and asked, "So, school today, right? That went well, yeah?"

"You got one little mindless automaton coming up. Did I say that right? Automaton I mean."

Tara leaned into Willow's touch, exhausted and a little worried about the dark thing that appeared to be a side-affect of her spell. It wasn't often that she did things of such magnitude as killing a demon; the bigger the task, the bigger the consequence.

She sighed and drew some energy from Willow. Though tired, she was for once glad to be going into research mode.

Anya's mouth hung open in abject horror. The only thing that could possibly make this day worse was if that dark cloud thing hovering near the ceiling started to rain bunny-rabbits. She shuddered at the very thought. But still, her store was a mess. There was a sinister looking mist in her store. Plus one very digusting demon corpse. The Scoobies would not get away without cleaning up this time. "Xander," she prodded her boyfriend sharply, "it is time you started being manly and putting things back to how they should be." She shot a meaningful look at Spike, hoping he would follow suit in the manliness. "And you manly Slayers are certainly not barred from helping out."

"Yeah...how about that research..." Xander murmured weakly, even as he started to help pick things up. Willow smile brightly at him, grabbing some books down from the shelves. "While we're at it, we'd probably better look that misty thing up." She pointed out to Tara. "I've never seen anything like it before."  
Anya nodded forcefully. "Yes, witches, get rid of the sinister cloud of doom. Dawn," she smiled brightly at the teen, "you may start cleaning as well! I do not disapprove of child labor!"

Dawn signed, but she knew there was no way that she would get out of it. Forlornly, she picked up a broom and started sweeping up the broken glass.

Buffy was still woozy, but not enough so to allow Anya to boss her around. She looked at her blankly, as if to say "or what?". Brushing carefully past Spike, Buffy strode over to the now heavily book laden table. She sat down, already the boredom sinking in, and opened a book from the top of one of the many piles. She put her elbow up on the table, crooked her arm, lent her head down into it and set to work, every now and again piping in with "Is this it?" and "Mmm..."  
Pretending to research was always so much easier than actually doing it.

Spike grinned at Dawn, "Ah, just what our society needs." He looked to the books...damn research. He grabbed one at sat at a nearby table.

Faith stared at the books somewhat blankly, "I think I'm gonna skip on the whole, book thing." she pulled a chair up next to Spike and leaned over the blond vampire's shoulder, getting somewhat uncomfortably close.

Tara snuggled up next to Willow, using research as an excuse to get close to her honey. "The spell I did was a combination of stopping his heart and melting his bones. I think the dark thing might have been something already inside the demon..."

She grabbed a few tomes from beneath the counter. Then she noticed the ankh. She recalled that that was what the demon had cried out when he came in. 'My ankh!' She lifted the heavy silver symbol in her hands. It was etched with what looked like Egyptian runes.

She brought it back to the table with her. The puzzle just kept getting more and more pieces.

"Um, guys?" Buffy said from across the table. "I'm gonna go patrol. You know, see if any of the demon population knows what the hell that things was.

"Need any help, Slayer?" asked Spike, trying to get out of researching.

"A world of no. I'll see you all later." she told them all as she got up and exited out the door. Lound mumbles from Anya about Slayers never helping could be heard throughout the room.

Willow smiled broadly at Tara, resting her head briefly on the other girl's shoulder. It was nice, she thought briefly, to have that bastion of support. Then she got down to business, handing out books to everyone, even floating a thick volume Anya's way. Pointedly. She left Dawn out of the research, and pretty soon into it, Buffy made a runner, pleading patrol. Willow sneered, shoving a book at Faith. With one slayer down, they needed all the help they could get.

She leaned across to look at the ankh Tara had found. "You know, maybe the fact that we gather in a magic shop is what's attracting all these demons. You guys think?" She said distractedly. "I wish Giles was here...Egyptian's not really my thing."

"Come on, Will, you can crack the code..." Xander encouraged, pretending to flip through the pages of his book. Finally, he set it down and began picking things up and putting the place back to order.

"Uh...hm...wait, this isn't Egyptian here, near the base...these are magical runes, I think..." Her brow furrowed in concentration.

When she heard "magical runes" spoke, Dawn immediatly gave up on the sweeping. Going over to stand behind Willow and Tara, sha looked over their shoulders and said "Looks kind of like a math formula."

Anyalooked the book into her hands, scowling. She would research. But she wouldn't like it. As soon as Willow spoke up, she slammed the book closed, and had a coughing fit from the resulting flurry of dust.

Faith ignored them all and stared at the book somewhat blankly. She opened it, wrinkling her nose at the dust the ancient tome let out when opened.

When the small amount of dust reached her, Dawn sneezed loudly. "Sorry" she apoligized sheepishly

Spike waited for more information somewhat patiently. As long as he didn't have to research, it was good to him. He glanced at Faith, she, like the rest, wasn't too fond of research either. His vampiric senses picked up her softly singing 'And All That Could Have Been' by Nine Inch Nails. He smiled at her, "'S a great song, isn't it, pet?" He liked this Slayer, she had bloody good taste in music.

Dawn glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter. Seeing that it was only a few minuites to midnight, she yelped. "I got to go guys. School tomorrow, and I got tons of math to do." She picked up her bookbag and made her way over to the door of the Magic Shop.

Xander looked up hopefully. "You need a ride home, Dawnie? Big sis wouldn't want you wandering alone." He paused, his eyes narrowing to hopeful slits, trying to communicate telepathically with Dawn his intense need to get out of cleaning up and research.

She caught the desperate look eyes and nodded. "Proably a good idea Xander. Thanks."

"Oh no you don't, Xander," Anya narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. "You are going to stay right here and help me clean up. The life of one teenager cannot mean more to you than the state of my shop!"

"Anya, I know that you like money. So, if you let Xander go with me, you will get more money in the long run because you will not have lost me as a customer because I was killed." Dawn said.

Xander looked between his indignant fiancee and Dawn, the little sister he never knew he wanted. He could see that things might get out of hand soon, and skipped over to the ex-demon.

"Ahn, honey... I'll only be gone a little while. Just til the Buffster gets home from patrol. Then I'll come right back and help with the cleaning."

He lowered his head and looked up at her through his lashes, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

"I promise."

Please Anya?" Dawn asked, one step away from whining.

Anya set her lip. She would not let Xander's adorability distract her from her purpose. Not this time. "No. My shop will be fixed SOON or there will be grossly unpleasant things happening to each and every one of you. Don't think that just because I am no longer a demon that I cannot set terrible wrath upon your heads."

Dawn sighed. "Sorry Xander. I tried. I guess I'll just go on by myself"she said and walked over to the door once again.

"Bit, I could walk you back to the house, it's not like I'm welcome here," Spike said, standing up. He started walking towards the door, then stopped. "Want me to?" he asked Dawn, making sure that she was okay with this change in the plan.

Anya threw her hands up in the air. "Why is all my free labor intent on abandoning me in this filth?"

Dawnlaughed slightly at Anya'a antics, then nodded. "Sure. Thanks." As she walked out of the door, the black cloud hovering next to the ceiling dove down and entered her body. Gasping, Dawn tried to see what had happened, but saw nothing. Catching the breath that had been knocked out of her, she continued on her way.

Tara jolted awake. She lifted her head off the pile of books she had been looking at, and looked around her. Nope. No change. Black cloud still hovering, and most everyone that was still there, either cleaning or researching, was looking very worn down.

She stood abruptly. "Uh, sorry Anya, but I just remembered. I have class tomorrow. I better get home."

She brushed Willow's shoulder gently. "See you there?" she said, and without waiting for a reply, walked out the door.

Willow nodded at her retreating back and then went back to studying the ankh. "Dawnie was right. It does look like a math formula." she muttered. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, she decided it was time to quit. "I'll see you tomorrow Anya," she told the ex-demon as she gathered up her coat and walked out.

"Gaa," Anya exclaimed.


End file.
